The Loggia del Bigallo is a late Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 structure in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is one of a dozen public loggia

Loggia

Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...

s in the city, in this case part of a construction that housed the Compagnia della Misericordia, who commissioned the structure, probably from the architect-sculptor Alberto Arnoldi

Alberto Arnoldi

Alberto Arnoldi was a 14th century Italian sculptor and architect. He was born in Florence.In 1364, he made the colossal group of the Madonna and Child with two angels for the Loggia del Bigallo in Florence. Arnoldi worked at this group from 1359 to 1364...

; it was built in 1352–58. The open loggia served to shelter lost children and unwanted infants who were abandoned to the care of the brotherhood, the "Company of Mercy". In 1425 the Compagnia di Santa Maria del Bigallo, founded in 1244 by Saint Peter Martyr

Peter of Verona

Saint Peter of Verona O.P. , also known as Saint Peter Martyr, was a 13th century Italian Catholic priest. He was a Dominican friar and a celebrated preacher...

 and formerly housed near Orsanmichele

Orsanmichele

Orsanmichele is a church in the Italian city of Florence...

, transferred here as well. The Compagnia del Bigallo cared for pilgrims and travellers at their Ospedale di Santa Maria "del Bigallo" at Fonteviva.

It stands at the corner of piazza San Giovanni and via Calzaioli; a tradition records that the site in which to erect it was donated by a benefactor.

Its two arched bays are richly applied with bas-reliefs of prophets, angels, the Virtues, a Christ giving the benediction and an Ecce Homo

Ecce Homo

Ecce Homo are the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate in the Vulgate translation of the , when he presents a scourged Jesus Christ, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd shortly before his Crucifixion. The original Greek is Ἰδοὺ ὁ ἄνθρωπος . The King James Version translates the phrase...

. In 1697, the arches were immured in order to provide more space for the oratory

Oratory

Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...

 that is attached to the loggia; the masonry was removed in 1889, revealing the long-hidden decoration. Bifore windows pierce the walls of the floor above, which was originally richly frescoed. and three tabernacles, the work of Filippo di Cristofano, 1412, enframe the Madonna and Child, Saint Lucy

Saint Lucy

Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...

 and Saint Peter Martyr, patron of the brotherhood. The mid-14th century statues were installed here when the two confraternities joined in 1425.

The interior contains a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

of objects related to the Compagnia del Bigallo.

Sources

• Touring Club Italiano, (1964) Firenze e dintorni, 109f.